Our First Two Weeks in Belgium!

We arrived June 30th, on time, and with all of our luggage- VISAs were stamped one day before they expired--- such a relief!  Our first stop was registering our arrival at town hall in the community where we are temporarily staying.  Once we get an apartment we will be able to apply for our resident card.

On our second day, Chris was able to work on a tiling project at the new church building.  That afternoon we went with Pastor Daniel to a small town, Hampteau, for an auction at an old hotel and restaurant to see if we could find anything needed for the church building.  Someone ended up bidding on the whole collection, so we didn't end up with anything that we bid on.  The plus side was we got a crash course in our French listening skills!

The next several days were spent getting acquainted with Huy:  the market, le grande place, attending church, and meeting many new people who only speak French, but very much wanted to speak with us.  We also took two trips to Namur, where we will eventually be living and helping with a new church plant.  We are looking forward to getting to know the other two families that are collaborating on this new venture and have been in Belgium for a while.

We are both feeling good about things here so far. There have been a few days where we have just been exhausted physically (we walked probably 35-40 miles our first week), and mentally as we are trying to process everything that is coming at us in French. Belgium is a fairly laid back place and we have been enjoying the new experiences of taking the bus and the train, tasting new foods, and worshiping with our French-speaking brothers and sisters.


Sunday (7/10), we moved to a new host family where we will stay until we find our own apartment.  It has been a fun experience and a challenge as they only speak French and Spanish!  We are being forced to stretch, although not always easy, it will be very beneficial to our language learning.  We both feel that we are understanding more and more each day.  So for now, we are tucked away in our attic bedroom, knowing that for the next couple of weeks we will have good company, good food, clean clothes, and internet .... Tres bien!

We are looking forward to sharing this journey with you!  Keep us lifted up in your prayers!